Shortened Seasons, Incredible Performances

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Courtesy of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Lorenzo Cain

If the Brewers do play baseball in 2020, perhaps we’ll get some names to add to this list.

Two of the best years in the history of Milwaukee baseball were enhanced by players who put up incredible performances in partial seasons. First, in 1957 the Milwaukee Braves reached the first World Series in the city’s history at least in part due to a late-season boost from outfielder Bob Hazle, who came to the majors in late July as an injury replacement and appeared in just 41 games but batted .403 in his limited opportunities. Hazle is the only major leaguer since 1941 to come to the plate at least 150 times and bat .400 or better.

Decades later, the Brewers made the postseason for the first time in franchise history due to several incredible individual performances in an abbreviated season. Robin Yount was limited to 96 games but Baseball Reference estimates he was worth 4.9 wins above replacement in that small sample, the best total in franchise history for a player who batted less than 500 times. Yount’s performance was backed up by Cecil Cooper, who led all of baseball with 35 doubles, and Rollie Fingers, who was so electric in a relief role that he won both the American League Cy Young and MVP Awards.

Here are a few other players who made big impacts in partial seasons in Milwaukee:

Cal Eldred, 1992

The Brewers’ first round pick in the 1989 draft, Eldred had a cup of coffee in the majors as a 23-year-old in 1991 but returned to the minors to start the 1992 season, posting a 3.00 ERA despite pitching at elevation for AAA Denver. The Brewers brought him back to the majors in July and rode him heavily down the stretch as they chased the eventual World Series champion Blue Jays in the American League East. Eldred made 14 starts for the Brewers that season, including an 11-start span after August 1 where he averaged over seven innings per start with a 1.42 ERA. The Brewers were nearly unbeatable with him on the mound, going 12-2 in his starts.

Unfortunately, the workload of that stretch run likely impacted the remainder of Eldred’s career. Between the majors and minors he pitched 241 1/3 innings in 1992 and 258 in 1993. By 1995 he had elbow trouble and never regained his prior form.

Jim Edmonds, 2010

When the longtime Angels and Cardinals outfielder, four-time All Star and eight-time Gold Glove winner reported to Brewers camp as a non-roster invitee to spring training in 2010, it didn’t seem like an experiment that was likely to work out. Edmonds was going to turn 40 during the season and hadn’t played in the majors since homering against the Brewers in what seemed likely to be his final MLB contest in 2008.

Edmonds hit his way onto the roster, however, and even found a spot in the Opening Day starting lineup. He played 73 games for the Brewers that season and batted .286 with a .350 on-base and .493 slugging and was the first player to homer in a game for the Brewers after their 40^th birthday since 1991. The Brewers eventually traded him to the Reds where his comeback story came to an abrupt end in a game against the Brewers when he tore his Achilles tendon on a home run trot and retired. In the end, he did homer against Milwaukee in his final game after all.

Lorenzo Cain, 2010

The Brewers were able to trade Edmonds due to the emergence of another future star center fielder. Cain was the 496^th overall pick in the 2004 draft but he crushed the upper levels of the minors while splitting time between AA Huntsville and AAA Nashville in 2010 and eventually earned a shot in the majors. After entering a few games as a defensive replacement and picking up hits in three of his first five at bats, Cain moved into the lineup in August and made positive impressions in all aspects of the game going forward, going 45-for-147 (a .306 average) at the plate while also playing solid defense and stealing seven bases in eight attempts.

In the end, Cain’s emergence made it possible for the Brewers to pull off one of the biggest trades in franchise history: He was one of four players sent to the Royals for Zack Greinke following the season.

Junior Guerra, 2016

A true story of resilience, Guerra was 31 years old and on his fourth organization entering the 2016 season. He had been released twice, played in independent leagues and even the Italian League before the White Sox put him on waivers after just three MLB appearances in 2015, and he was claimed by Milwaukee. He had made just five starts for AAA Colorado Springs before the Brewers found a spot in their rotation for him.

Guerra got off to a bit of a slow start, allowing four runs in each of his first two appearances. On May 13 he pitched six shutout innings against the Padres, however, starting a span where he posted a 2.46 ERA in his final 109 2/3 innings. In a span of 18 months Guerra went from being a waiver claim to being the Brewers’ Opening Day starter in 2017.